Invisalign Archives - Ryan Perry, DDS

For years I have dreamed of having a really beautiful smile. I recently came into some money and decided to get porcelain veneers on my upper teeth. There is nothing major wrong with my teeth. They are a little small, and pretty stained, but overall structurally OK. One tooth is crooked, but it is not so bad that I ever considered braces.

And that is kind of why I am confused. The dentist I am working with says I should do Invisalign braces before we place my veneers, and that is kind of confusing to me. I thought the porcelain veneers would take care of any crooked teeth. Aren’t they also referred to as “instant orthodontics”? My dentist says that after I have the Invisalign treatment, the prep required to place the porcelain veneers would be minimal, which certainly sounds like a bonus, but is it really worth the time and expense? A year of treatment, and thousands of dollars don’t seem like a good trade for a few millimeters of tooth that will be under a veneer anyway. He wants to place Lumineers, but I’ve been reading kind of negative things about them on the web.

Do you have any advice?

Cecelia in Shreveport

Dear Cecelia,

Without seeing your case, it is impossible, of course to make definitive recommendations. It may be that you have a bite problem you are not aware of, or serious crowding issues. You really need to pursue this inquiry with your dentist, as it is quite unusual to recommend both procedures. Normally you would do porcelain veneers OR Invisalign, but not both together.

In this case, a second opinion is necessary. Go to a well recommended, experienced, artistic cosmetic dentist, and tell them what you want to have done. For the most accurate results you really should see a cosmetic dentist that also does Invisalign treatments. Don’t tell the second dentist about the recommendations of the first dentist until after he or she has offered an opinion. In this way you can get the truest assessment of the second dentist’s opinion on the best treatment options.

Best of luck.

This blog post is courtesy of Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Perry.

I’ve been reading through all of your blog posts, and think you have a great site. I feel like I could really trust your advice, so I am going to ask what you think about my situation.

I have one crooked front tooth, and when I say crooked, I mean SERIOUSLY crooked. It has always been embarrassing to me, and now that I am getting ready to enter a new career, I want to get it fixed. The problem is that I keep getting different advice from different dentists! This makes me really distrustful. I don’t know who to believe, and was hoping you could help shed some light on the situation.

One dentist said I should go with conventional braces, and another said that I could try Invisalign. I was wondering about just pulling it and replacing it with a dental implant, but neither dentist would discuss that option. A third dentist said that I could consider a porcelain crown, but that it would be really challenging to match to my other teeth and that I would really want to talk to an expert cosmetic dentist about getting this work done. Does it really make that much of a difference? And why the three different answers? It makes me suspicious that this is all some big conspiracy.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Alberta in Seattle

Dear Alberta,

Let us put your suspicions to rest. You received three different answers (all of them perfectly viable) because the three dentists you consulted all have different areas of expertise.

Conventional braces would certainly straighten your crooked tooth, but it could take up to two years to complete treatment. Invisalign treatment is usually shorter, and there are many advantages to that type of invisible braces. And finally, the dentist who advised you to talk to an expert cosmetic dentist was absolutely correct in stating that matching a porcelain crown or a porcelain veneer in the front of the mouth can be quite tricky. It is commendable that he or she recognizes this challenge and is giving you excellent advice.

Any one of the three solutions could work for you, so now it is time to decide which course of treatment would be best. It might be best to talk to an expert cosmetic dentist who also does Invisalign, as they could offer you the pros and cons of each solution.

The dental office of Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Perry sponsored this blog post.

Which would be best – porcelain veneers or Invisalign?

Just one crooked front tooth – what are my options?